Food web of the amazon rainforest

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Food web of the amazon rainforest

This is an Amazon Rainforest Food Web. See if you can identify all the parts of the food web that make this a functioning, healthy ecosystem. Look for:

The Producers - the trees, shrubs, bromeliads and other plants.

The Primary Consumers – the macaws, monkeys, agouti, tapir, butterflies, sloths, toucans.

The Secondary Consumers – the jaguar and boa constrictor.

The Scavengers –  the butterflies and  other insects.

The Decomposers or Detritivores – mushrooms, insects and microorganisms.

* Try the Amazon Rainforest Food Web Activity.

To make black and white copies for your whole class, see the copy-friendly version below.

Food web of the amazon rainforest

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Citing Research References

When you research information you must cite the reference. Citing for websites is different from citing from books, magazines and periodicals. The style of citing shown here is from the MLA Style Citations (Modern Language Association).

When citing a WEBSITE the general format is as follows.
Author Last Name, First Name(s). "Title: Subtitle of Part of Web Page, if appropriate." Title: Subtitle: Section of Page if appropriate. Sponsoring/Publishing Agency, If Given. Additional significant descriptive information. Date of Electronic Publication or other Date, such as Last Updated. Day Month Year of access < URL >.

Here is an example of citing this page:

Amsel, Sheri. "Amazon Rainforest Food Web" Exploring Nature Educational Resource ©2005-2022. September 17, 2022
< http://www.exploringnature.org/db/view/Amazon-Rainforest-Food-Web >

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Food web of the amazon rainforest

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To understand the Amazon Rainforest Food Web, first read about the Amazon Rainforest Biome using this link.

Then read about the different trophic levels of a typical Food Chain (below). The trophic level is the position that an organism (plant or animal) occupies in a food chain - what it eats, and what eats it.

Energy flows through an ecosystem as one animal eats another animal or plant.

Plants make (produce) their own food using water, sunlight and carbon dioxide (photosynthesis). Plants start the food chain. There are more plants than any other living thing because they are the bottom of the food chain. They provide the energy for everything else. They are the PRODUCERS.

            The animals (insects, mice, chipmunks, squirrels, rabbits, deer) that mostly eat plants are called the herbivores. There are fewer herbivores than there are plants because each herbivore needs a lot of plant matter to live. Herbivores feed directly on the producers. They are the PRIMARY CONSUMERS.

Animals (spiders, birds, snakes) who eat the primary consumers (herbivores) are the SECONDARY CONSUMERS. There are fewer secondary consumers than there are primary consumers because each secondary consumer needs to eat a lot of primary consumers to live.

Animals (fox, coyotes, eagles, owls) who eat the 1st & 2nd consumers are carnivores (they eat meat). They are the TERTIARY CONSUMERS. There are fewer tertiary consumers than there are secondary consumers because each tertiary consumer needs to eat a lot of secondary consumers to live.

Because there are fewer animals as you move up the food chain, it is really a food pyramid with the big carnivores needing to eat the most and so being the rarest of the animal kingdom. Because animals eat so many things, the food chain has many overlapping parts, so is really a FOOD WEB.

Last but not least, the DECOMPOSERS and DETRITIVORES eat and so recycle dead animals and plants (mushrooms, fungi, insects, bacteria). Nothing is wasted.

Now study the Amazon Rainforest Food Web Illustration below (online or by printing out the high resolution pdf). Note the different species and where they fit into the food web trophic levels decribed above.

Print and fill out the Amazon Rainforest Food Web Trophic Level Data Sheet (pdf below).

You can also use these two Food Web Graphic Organizers:

1. LINK

2. LINK

Food web of the amazon rainforest

Please Login or Subscribe to access downloadable content.

Use Teacher Login to show answer keys or other teacher-only items.

Citing Research References

When you research information you must cite the reference. Citing for websites is different from citing from books, magazines and periodicals. The style of citing shown here is from the MLA Style Citations (Modern Language Association).

When citing a WEBSITE the general format is as follows.
Author Last Name, First Name(s). "Title: Subtitle of Part of Web Page, if appropriate." Title: Subtitle: Section of Page if appropriate. Sponsoring/Publishing Agency, If Given. Additional significant descriptive information. Date of Electronic Publication or other Date, such as Last Updated. Day Month Year of access < URL >.

Here is an example of citing this page:

Amsel, Sheri. "Amazon Rainforest Food Web Activity" Exploring Nature Educational Resource ©2005-2022. September 17, 2022
< http://www.exploringnature.org/db/view/Amazon-Rainforest-Food-Web-Activity >

What is the food web of the Amazon rainforest?

The Producers - the trees, shrubs, bromeliads and other plants. The Primary Consumers – the macaws, monkeys, agouti, tapir, butterflies, sloths, toucans. The Secondary Consumers – the jaguar and boa constrictor. The Scavengers – the butterflies and other insects.

What producers are in the Amazon rainforest?

The Producers and Consumers of the Tropical Rainforest.

Who is at the top of the food chain in the Amazon rainforest?

But the top of the food chain isn't a peaceful place to be. Apex predators must stay vigilant, strong and healthy if they want to keep their top spot. In the Amazon rainforest food chain, these top spots are held by the big cats, crocodiles and the green anaconda.

What are 4 herbivores in the Amazon rainforest?

Mammalian herbivores include spiny rats, deer, peccaries, sloths, monkeys, and many others; they are often generalists, feeding on a variety of available plant taxa according to season or locality. Both insect and mammalian herbivores can influence tree demographics by the consumption of tree seedlings.